What is Nerdle?
It is a daily puzzle game that incorporates the Wordle guessing game concept but using numbers. You guess an 8 character equation instead of a 5 letter word. The colour coding is the same as Wordle.
How to Play
The goal is to guess the equation in 6 attempts.
The equation must be a real one.
After each guess you will receive some colour clues.
Equation
The equation must contain numbers (0-9), mathematical symbols (+,-,x,/) and an equals sign (=). For example, the answer may be:
48/6+2=10
Which is 8 characters. The characters are 4,8,/,6,+,2,=,1,0. Which is 9 characters. It fits into 8 spaces:
3+8-4=7 (7 characters - Mini Nerdle)
36/4+5=14 (8 characters - Standard)
The equation must include an equals sign. You also must have a correct equation. If you were to guess 5+3=10, this would be incorrect as 5+3=8.
Colours
As with Wordle there are 3 colours:
Green - The number/symbol is in the correct place.
Purple - The number/symbol is present but in the wrong place. (We use purple instead of yellow to differentiate our brand).
Black - The number/symbol isn’t present in the equation.
Different Types of Nerdle
There are a few different types of Nerdle:
Classic Nerdle
The standard version. The equation will be 8 characters. There is only 1 puzzle a day.
Mini Nerdle
The equation will be shorter, either 6 or 7 characters. This is aimed at people that find the standard version too challenging. The maths will be easier and with smaller numbers.
Instant Nerdle
You guess the whole equation. There is no feedback given from earlier guesses.
Speed Nerdle
A speed based version of Nerdle. You get rewarded for solving quicker.
Tips
There are a few differences when playing Nerdle compared to Wordle.
Start with a high calculation guess. Try a guess like 1+2+3=6 or 9-5+1=5. This includes several numbers and symbols. Just like Wordle, we want to gain as much information from our first guess.
Look out for numbers in the correct place. As all equations will have maths symbols (=,+,-,x,/) we often know where the equals sign and at least one maths symbol will be. We can then use the numbers we know are in the correct place to narrow down our options.
Maths! Unlike Wordle, our guesses must be a real equation. This helps us as not all the numbers we know will make a real equation.
Think about what is on the right hand side of the equals sign. The numbers after the = sign will usually be 1 or 2 digits. Knowing what the answer is will help narrow down what calculations and numbers can be used on the left hand side.
Who is it for?
This game is perfect for people that enjoy number puzzles, mental maths and logic games. You don’t need any advanced maths knowledge as all equations use basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with single and double digit numbers. However, as all guesses must be a real equation you will need to do more active calculating than with Wordle.
If you enjoy playing Wordle but find it too easy or want an extra daily challenge that uses different parts of your brain, Nerdle is the most well made and popular maths based alternative.